JLR Names New North America CEO as It Bets Big on the US

JLR has a new leader for its most important market. Mark Cameron, currently Defender's global managing director, becomes JLR's North American CEO on September 1. He's a 15-year JLR veteran with 32 years in the auto industry, and he'll report to Chief Growth Officer Lennard Hoornik.

The timing is deliberate. JLR says it wants its US business to grow to the size of the entire company within five years. North America already brings in the highest profits and makes up 28% of yearly sales.

It won't be easy. Q1 sales fell, and US tariffs on imported cars are cutting into profit. JLR's answer is a wave of new models and local production. It's teaming up with Stellantis to build the Defender in the US, since it has no factory of its own in North America.

A new Defender is coming on the EMA platform, with hybrid and full-electric versions. That same platform underpins the upcoming Range Rover GT — the fifth Range Rover model, launching first as an EV. New Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models stay on the MLA platform, offering everything from mild-hybrid to full-electric power. Jaguar goes fully electric, starting with the Type 01 revealed this October in New York: three motors, more than 986 hp, and around 400 miles of range.